Time After Time
by ivyfedora
Summary: Rogue gets trapped in a burning building, after saving a baby from the fire. Good thing the amazing Pietro is there to catch her. Songfic for Time After Time by Quietdrive, R & R!


**QA.N. Gosh, this is kind of long for a song-fic. The song is Time After Time by Quietdrive, and the universe is X-Men Evolution. This is my first story for X-Men Evo, review and tell me what you think! I know I switched tenses a few times in here, but I'm too lazy to edit it out. ~ivy**

**Pairing: QuicksilverxRogue, universe: X-Men Evo**

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men; Marvel does! **

* * *

_Lying in my bed_  
_I hear the clock tick_

They had an argument once, he remembers. Two hours spent arguing about what would happen if time would stop. Rogue said that the world would stop, too.

Pietro, ever analytical, argued that if there was a catalyst strong enough to counteract the force stopping time, like say, a extremely hot, fastly vibrating ball of molecules, time would start again.

She told him to shut up and deflate his ego a bit, because time sure as hall wasn't stopping anytime soon.

_And think of you_  
_Caught up in circles_  
_Confusion is nothing new_

Life was easy: hot chicks to date, easy grades and plenty money to be stolen. Pietro Maximoff had the best of everything, with his fast-talking charm and lightning fast wit. Unlike most of the popular crowd, he actually had great grades, due to him skimming textbooks using his powers.

The most common emotions were impatience, ambition and anger. But when Rogue showed up at the Brotherhood base, a new emotion bubbled inside of him: confusion.

_You say_  
_Go slow_  
_I fall behind_  
_The second hand_  
_Unwinds_

Relations used to be strained between them, with Rogue switching sides and Quicksilver being the de facto leader of the Brotherhood, due to his father's status.

But at school, it was like they were normal high school students, just worrying about dates, grades and money. Stolen money didn't grow on trees, you know.

_If you're lost_  
_You can look_  
_And you will find me_  
_Time after time_

Her fingers seemed so cold to the touch, even for her. Weren't they supposed to be warm, with her wearing those thick gloves all the time?

"Hey, Roguey," Pietro whispered, for once not speeding through his sentences. "How're you doing?"

The room was boring and bland, and he'd been waiting here for hours. Strangely, he didn't feel the burning desire to tap his foot or do anything to ease the dullness.

_If you fall_  
_I will catch you_  
_I'll be waiting_  
_Time after time_

Ororo exchanged a worried glance with Wolverine, who was sharpening his claws on the door frame as a nervous reflex. The shredded pieces of wood fell to the floor in long brown curlicues.

"It is well and all that the boy cares, but he has been in there for hours. Should we not ask him to leave, to get something to eat?" asked Storm, worrying for both the girl and the boy's health.

Wolverine snorted, looking up at his silver-haired teammate, trusted friend and fellow teacher.

"The kid can do whatever he wants. If he wants to collapse of exhaustion, that's fine with me. Besides, if he meant any harm, I'd squish him like a june-bug."

Pietro wasn't the only one keeping vigil at the young mutant's bedside, but he'd kicked everyone out within a few minutes of entering. Something about Rogue wouldn't have wanted Spyke poking holes in her bed on accident.

Actually, he just annoyed him.

_Time after time_

"How's she doing?" whispered Kitty quietly, peeping in the doorframe. Instantly, the soft expression on the current occupant's features hardened into an angry scowl.

"Get out, Pryde," he hissed, tapping his foot impatiently. "Go play with your new boyfriend or something."

A hurt expression crossed her face, and she crossed her arms. "She's my roommate too, you know."

"If she was your roommate, then why didn't you care enough to save her? Why didn't the rest of them?"

She teleported through the wall, tears streaking down her face, and he dropped his head into his arms. Usually, the snide remarks didn't have much feeling behind them, and Kitty would just scowl back, whining about how, Pietro, why are you _sooo_ mean?

Why was everything such a mess, lately?

_Time after time_

"He's mad," whispered Kitty to Nightcrawler, who had been eavesdropping in the room that she'd arrived in. "Super mad. Like, I will punch you straight to hell, mad."

Kurt bit his lip, because that wasn't the hopeful response he'd been waiting for. Something along the lines of, "Rogue says she's not mad at you anymore, and I forgive you," would have been nice.

But then again, Pietro and Rogue weren't exactly the type to just forgive and forget. His pointy ears drooped, and he let out a loud sigh.

If Rogue would try to kill her own mother, and Pietro would try to assassinate his father, there really wasn't any hope for a team that had abandoned her.

_Sometimes_  
_You picture me_  
_I'm walking_  
_Too far ahead_

Pietro had been at the coffee place near the Brotherhood's run-down shack, tapping his feet impatiently for the hot chocolate he'd ordered. He glanced at the flat screen tv that he might steal later, then winked at the waitress before asking to turn the volume up. She complied, blushing.

Inside, he blanched at the thought of a thirty-year old graying waitress named Suzie pining after him. That was disgusting...maybe it was worth the few extra seconds to run to that other place, somewhere in Paris. Their croissants were really good.

"The X-Men have been spotted saving people from a burning apartment complex," said the news anchor, smoothing her hair back. The flames flickered distractingly, but his eyes still caught details too fast for normal people to comprehend.

The fire flickered brighter, and he saw a streak of red light in it. Huh, Summers was actually getting his hands dirty for a change. Usually, he was the person who swooped in at the end to take all the glory, after the others had safely contained the threat.

Or, Pietro supposed, you could call him the leader. That worked, too.

His piercing blue eyes penetrated the smoke obscuring the building, and he noticed another thing. That thing made him do a double-take, run out the cafe faster than he ever had before, leaving Suzie the waitress spluttering and covered in hot chocolate.

The night air whipped through his hair, and his feet pounded the pavement, precious time ticking by.

Unless babies could spontaneously fly through the air, out a window to safety, there was someone in the room that was currently blazing with heat.

Someone with a white streak in their hair.

_You're calling_  
_To me_

The cops and firefighters said, "Stand aside, son," while the paparazzi were eating it up.

"X-Men save the day," said one reporter, scribbling it down. "What do you think of that, Bobby?"

"Baby pushed to safety," said another. "Anonymous heroes to thank."

The stairs burned with heat as he raced up the concrete stairs to the front door, not thinking about any stupid safety rules they learned in science.

He hoped it was someone's old grandma and not the goth mutant he was thinking of. If it was, he would hug her to death, thankful it wasn't Rogue. She'd probably laugh it off later, him suffocating an elderly woman ten times his age.

That is, if it _wasn't_ her.

Pietro sped inside, fear and anger clouding his mind. Dammit, he thought, pushing aside burning timbers with his bare hands. To hell with it; he'd heal later.

The girl who saved that baby is trapped inside, he thought, racing through the warm hallways, opening doors at the speed of sound. She saved an innocent, only to doom herself to a death before her time.

By the time her teammates finish showing off their powers, she'll be gasping for oxygen, tears streaming through her eyes. Maybe, by luck, she'll stumble to the doorknob and fumble with it, getting out into the cold air outside. But by then, the smoke would have killed her regardless.

What do you think of that?

_I can't hear_  
_Just what you've said_

The first door isn't it. Neither is the second, third or fourth. By the time he's in the second building, the first comes crashing down.

Why does this apartment complex have to be so freaking big?

Shocked faces of X-men turn into blurs as he races through the series of buildings. A strong hand grabs him, and he trips over a rock, of all things.

"Maximoff," growls Wolverine, looking angry. "What are you doing here?"

"Notimetostayandchat," he rushed out, feet already going through the running motions. "'t."

The claws unsheathe, and the gruff man takes a slow step closer. "What did you say?" he says with his usual gruffness.

Pietro's eyes turn deadly, and he sprints off, his last sentence carrying through the wind. In all of their meetings, the older man had always been Wolvie, or Hairy Dude, as dubbed by Blob.

This time, he was Logan.

"I swear to God, Logan. If you made me one second too late, I will rip you apart."

_You say_  
_Go slow_  
_I fall behind  
__The second hand  
__Unwinds_

_"_Rogue," he called desperately, racing through the halls. "I know I'm hot, but you don't have to faint!"

He hears a low groan at his terrible pick-up line, and he speeds blindly in that direction.

_If you're lost_  
_You can look_  
_And you will find me_  
_Time after time_

"Keep talking," he yelled, lungs aching from the smoke. If he, a person who can run halfway around the world with a single breath, is choking on the thick gas, then what would Rogue, a person without super-strength lungs, be feeling?

"You have terrible pick-up lines," she rasps, hacking out a cough. "Mystique had something going on for you."

There's a brief silence, and his fears almost overwhelm him. Would the next time he saw her be in a coffin, nailed shut?

"Don't stop! Sing one of your depressing songs, insult Summers, say something, goddammit!"

_If you fall_  
_I will catch you_  
_I'll be waiting_  
_Time after time_

When he finds her, her lips are blue from not enough oxygen. She's too weak to protest when he swings her up, Cinderella style and ferries her away.

The gates to Xavier's Academy are wide open, since they're expecting a victorious parade of mutants coming back.

"How'd you-" says the blue furry guy (Pietro forgot his name), dropping his spectacles in surprise. "The security-" he trails, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"-quite frankly, sucks," finishes Pietro for him, laying Rogue down on an examining table. "She was in a fire," he explains, and thank God the good doctor understands, because he's not quite sure he can explain this again.

_After_  
_My picture fades_  
_And darkness_  
_Has turned to grey_

"You need food," says Daniels, pointing towards the door. "C'mon, Storm can whip you up something really fast. She's not gonna wake up in the five minutes it's gonna take you to eat something."

The stoic expression on Pietro's face doesn't change. "No."

"We're not gonna poison it," he says in exasperation. "Or are you too chicken?"

The silver haired speedster doesn't take the bait, just sits there with the same annoyed look glued on his perfect features. "I said no. Go away before I vibrate through your brain."

_Watching_  
_Through windows_  
_You're wondering_  
_If I'm okay_

When the tall redhead tiptoes in the room, he doesn't even have to turn around to know who it is.

"I'll call you when she wakes up," he says, feigning anger. "Out."

He doesn't need to tell her twice; she's even easier than Kitty.

_And you say_  
_Go slow_  
_I fall behind_  
_The drum beats_  
_Out of time_

"I know you are worried," said Storm, trying to placate him. "But you must eat, or you will be in the same bed next to her."

He rummaged in his pocket, eyes never leaving the prone body lying on the bed. Producing a handful of change, his figure blurred before he reappeared, holding a few bags of junk food.

"That is not what I meant," she sighed in exasperation. "I meant real nourishment, child. Not beef jerky, and chips from the vending machine down the hall."

"It's not," he said, popping a bag of Doritos and robotically placing the chips in his mouth. "It's chips, beef jerky and beef jerky flavored chips."

She slaps her forehead, because that's really not what she meant.

_If you're lost_  
_You can look_  
_And you will find me_  
_Time after time_

When her eyes finally open (no, they don't flutter like in movies), a tired-looking Quicksilver is waiting there for her.

"You stayed up all night?" she yells incredulously, trying to sit up. In a flash, he's gently pushing her back down onto the bed and checking the medical charts.

"You absorbed Wolverine's healing powers, so those burns will be scars in a little," he announces cheerfully, starkly contrasted by his messy hair and bloodshot eyes.

When she demands an answer to her previous question, he gives a little nonchalant shrug. "Actually, three. And before you ask, I had chips, beef jerky and beef jerky flavored chips. All from your friendly neighborhood vending machine."

_If you fall_  
_I will catch you_  
_I'll be waiting_  
_Time after time_

The tears threaten to spill over her eyes, and she rubs at them frantically. "You didn't...you didn't have to," she says, trying to preserve her tough-girl image. It doesn't work; he's seen that side of her already.

"YesIdid," he says, slowing down his words. "For once, I knew what it was like to be stuck in time, not able to do anything."

She bites back a smirk, telling him that this time, a super-fast ball of vibrating molecules did restart time.

Pietro smirks back at her arrogantly, adding the words "amazing," and "hot," to the list.

_If you're lost_  
_You can look_  
_And you will find me_  
_Time after time_

"How'd you find me?" she asks suspiciously, sure it's something cheesy and embarrassing. Pietro launches into a ridiculous story about how he saved her from a burning rafter, and she professed her undying love for him under the moonlit stars.

"Really?"

"No, actually, I had to carry your dead body back here. But sure, you professed your undying love on the way."

She smacks his shoulder hard, and he winces in pain.

"Okay, whatever. You owe me a cup of hot chocolate, because I had to spill mine to save your pathetic self." It's his weird way of asking her out in Pietro-ese, but his giant ego won't allow it otherwise.

"Coffee next Saturday at six?"

He feigns surprise, asking if her crazy father-figure will let her get out that late. Really, he reminds her. Didn't Wolverine ban her from going out without his permission after that whole thing with Daniels staying up until two?

"Shut it, Piety."

_If you fall_  
_I will catch you_  
_I'll always be waiting_  
_Time after time_

"So, it's a date?" she asks innocently, like it doesn't matter.

"A date? Isn't that so, you know, _normal_, for mutants like us?"

"Okay, so what do mutants do in their spare time?" Rogue asks sarcastically. "Blow up buildings? Run from a giant guy who threatens to fart on you? Have whipped cream wars in the middle of the kitchen? Save the world from jellyfish monsters?"

He's only half kidding when he says yes.

_Time after time_

* * *

**Fin. **


End file.
